Could rail's love affair with lightweighting deliver the benefits witnessed in aerospace? Maybe... if you choose your partners carefully. When analysing current trends in materials for mass transportation, it doesn't take long for the topic of 'lightweighting' to meander its way into the discussion. It's been a strong focus of the auto sector for many years, the key enabler of improved fuel efficiency and CO_2 reductions, as well as driving performance gains. Cost, performance and emissions benefits have been experienced in aerospace, too, with an estimate from Enviro.aero calculating that - across the 57 million flying hours of the total commercial fleet - cutting 1 kg per flight could save around 1, 700 tonnes of fuel and 5, 400 tonnes of CO_2 annually.
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